make a meal of

verb2

1. •
   To eat something as a meal.

   • Don't walk near the tiger: it'll make a meal of you.
2. •
   To spend more time and energy on some task than it warrants; to make something overly complicated; to make a big thing out of.

   • Some people can make a meal out of the simplest task. If you give it to a busy person, they don’t have time to muck around on the edges and worry about it — they’ll just do it. — 1997